Stop And Smell The Roses
by Five Dollar Mixtape
Summary: There's just something that scares cats about Thornkit, but Wolfkit is so neglected she'll take anyone.


" _This is the price I pay. I thought I was being trusting, but I was being naive. I wasn't betrayed because life is unfair, I was betrayed because I trusted the untrustworthy."_

* * *

All of the cats in AmberClan agreed: Even though he was just a kit, there was something wrong with Thornkit. Just like his name, he hid in the stalk of something beautiful, only to cause pain when you were least expecting it. When you had taken time out of your day to stop and smell the roses.

Wolfkit didn't see it. He couldn't be any more mean than the other cats, right? She decided to give him a chance.

"Move it, runt!" a kit hissed at her, shoving her out of their way. She immediately recognized the kit: with her distinctive, swirling black stripes standing out against russet fur, how could she not?

"Stop it, Swirlkit!" Wolfkit complained, taking a few small paw steps back.

Swirlkit's fur rose along her spine in annoyance, her golden eyes narrowing along with the emotion. Her long tail lashed back and forth, before she leapt at the smaller kit.

Wolfkit let out a yelp and screwed her eyes shut as she felt teeth sink into her skin, and claws dig into her belly. They were gone within a heartbeat, and Wolfkit opened one amber eye to see Thornkit standing in front of her.

The tom's hackles were raised, and even though he was younger than Swirlkit and herself, he was already larger than Wolfkit. His light brown fur was standing up, making the darker spots in it hard to notice and made him look even bigger.

"Leave her alone, Swirlkit," he meowed simply. The russet and black she-kit stood up, her small but sharp claws scoring across the ground.

"Fine," she muttered. "You're lucky you had someone to protect you, runt," Swirlkit snarled, before stalking off towards the apprentices. _I bet Hauntedpaw would take my side!_ Wolfkit thought to herself.

"Are you okay?" Wolfkit blinked as she looked up at Thornkit. His fur was lying flat again, and his bright green eyes were looking… well, she knew that they were looking _at_ her, but it felt like they were looking _through_ her. The small she-kit looked down at her black fur, with the white strands under it that were constantly sticking out through the dark fur. "We should take you to see Icewhisker," Thornkit told her.

* * *

Wolfkit watched as Swirlkit and a tom kit, a black tom with white paws, ears, chest, and tail tip padded past them. His amber eyes narrowed and he let out a growl as he padded past Wolfkit and Thornkit, but whether it was aimed at her or the younger tom, Wolfkit wasn't sure.

"Don't worry," Thornkit assured her. "You're becoming an apprentice in half a moon, aren't you?"

Wolfkit nodded, not so sure about how willing she was to trust the tom yet.

"Well, once that happens, you'll be spending so much time with your mentor you'll barely even notice Swirlkit and Howlkit." Thornkit nudged her with a shoulder. "Just promise to teach me all the fighting moves you know."

She forced a purr. "I will!"

* * *

"Maybe we should delay her apprenticeship," Wolfkit heard her mother meow while she was pretending to sleep. "Swirlkit and Howlkit are so much bigger than her, and I know it seems horrible Froststar, but…"

"It doesn't," the leader meowed. "She's about two moons smaller than she should be, according to Icewhisker. I'd like her to become an apprentice with Thornkit."

* * *

"They're delaying my apprenticeship, Thornkit," Wolfkit murmured, her ears and head low. "I heard my mom talking to Froststar last night, and they said I'm becoming an apprentice with you."

"It'll be fine," Thornkit encouraged. "That just means we can train together, doesn't it?"

Wolfkit thought for a heartbeat. Maybe Swirlkit and Howlkit hated her, but she'd be with Thornkit, a cat that actually seemed to appreciate her. She nodded.

"Yeah, it does."

* * *

"Swirlpaw! Howlpaw! Swirlpaw! Howlpaw!"

Wolfkit kept her ears low as she watched the cats cheered for her littermates. The two new apprentices mentors, a black she-cat named Shadowleaf and a tortoiseshell named Stonefall, didn't let the Clan congratulate them on their new rank before they led them out of camp.

"Just one moon left," Thornkit reminded her. Wolfkit nodded.

"One moon left."

* * *

Wolfkit followed Thornkit everywhere, because she had nothing else to do. Thornkit didn't seem to mind. He actually seemed to like it. He kept his head high, his tail swishing back and forth. "Half a moon, Wolfkit!" Thornkit meowed. "We'll be the best apprentices this Clan has ever seen, and when I become leader, you'll be my deputy."

Wolfkit nodded. "I'll be a better deputy than Redshadow, as long as you're leader."

Thornkit purred. "That's the spirit! Froststar and Redshadow don't lead this Clan the right way, anyway."

* * *

Wolfkit's fur was groomed to perfection, not that she thought it meant anything to her. She copied Thornkit's relaxed stance next to her, but she couldn't exude the confidence that was leaking out of his pelt. She turned her eyes to the Carved Ledge as Froststar appeared at the top of it.

"May all cats old enough to follow the stars gather here beneath the Carved Ledge for a Clan meeting!" the tom yowled, even though most of the Clan had gathered. He waited for a few more cats to approach the crowd, namely Swirlpaw and Howlpaw, before he began the ceremony.

"Cats of AmberClan," he began. "Today, we introduce two new cats into the true life of a warrior." He turned his eyes to Wolfkit. "Wolfkit, from this moment on, you shall be known as Wolfpaw. Train well until you earn your warrior name. Riverpath," he turned his eyes to the crowd as he spoke. "You had a good mentor in Brackenshade, and I believe that you will train Wolfpaw well."

A blue-gray and white she-cat stepped through the crowd and padded towards Wolfpaw. Wolfpaw turned her head towards her, rising to her paws and touching noses with her new mentor. The two padded to the front of the crowd and sat down to watch Thornkit's ceremony.

"Thornkit, form this moment on, you shall be known as Thornpaw. Train well until you earn your warrior name. Thunderfire, you had a good mentor in Thorndust, and I believe that you will train Thornpaw well." A brown tom with a cream paw padded through the crowd, his head high and a purr coming from his throat. He touched noses with Thornpaw, and the two sat down next to Wolfpaw and Riverpath.

"Wolfpaw! Thornpaw! Wolfpaw! Thornpaw!"

* * *

"Great, we have to share a den with her again," Wolfpaw heard Howlpaw complain as her and Thornpaw padded into the den.

"Oh, well," Swirlpaw meowed, not bothering to lower her voice. "It was a good moon, wasn't it?"

"Oh, it was perfect for us," Thornpaw meowed. "Wasn't it, Wolfpaw?" he asked, looking back at the smaller she-cat.

Wolfpaw nodded without hesitation, letting out a hum of agreement.

"You've made her your perfect little follower, haven't you?" Howlpaw asked. Wolfpaw tilted her head and one of her ears folded backwards, wondering what the tom was talking about.

"I don't know what you're talking about," Thornpaw meowed, his tail swishing to the side. He padded towards two nests and curled up in one of them. Wolfpaw laid down in the other one, stretching her paws forward.

* * *

"Dodge!" Riverpath ordered as Swirlpaw raced for her. Wolfpaw rolled to the left and sprang to her paws, leaping towards Swirlpaw's side and sending her off balance.

"Grab her by the scruff, Swirlpaw!" her mentor, Stonefall, ordered.

Swirlpaw turned, dipping her head forward. Before she could reach her, Wolfpaw jumped backwards, going into a crouch.

"All that speed she's build up makes her a great fighter, huh?" she heard Thornpaw meow happily to Howlpaw. She could feel her littermate's irritation from the center of the clearing, and Thornpaw's praise just made her want to fight harder.

Swirlpaw ran for her, and Wolfpaw sprang towards the larger she-cat. Swirlpaw feinted left and kicked out her paws, sending her to the other side of the clearing. She felt teeth sink into her scruff, and she got shaken around. When she was let go, she landed on her paws, but she was so dizzy she had no idea which way to go to attack the she-cat. She felt her front legs get swept out from under her, sending her chin into the ground.

"I think Swirlpaw won," Shadowleaf meowed, lifting a paw to wash her face. "But Wolfpaw was doing great in the beginning, and overwhelmed Swirlpaw with her speed." The older she-cat dipped her head to Riverpath. "You choose a good thing to improve on." Thornpaw padded into the clearing and helped Wolfpaw to her paws. She shook her head, clearing away the rest of her dizzy fog.

"Thornpaw, Howlpaw, you two fight next," Stonefall ordered, curling her tail around her paws.

"Good luck," Wolfpaw meowed to Thornpaw. He nodded as she padded over to Riverpath.

"I'll teach you something to combat that move Swirlpaw used on you," she meowed. "But other than that, I think you'll be going to the Gathering tonight."

"Really?" Wolfpaw asked, her ears perked and sitting up a little straighter. Riverpath nodded.

"Shadowleaf seems to think so," she meowed.

"Begin!" Stonefall's yowl brought them both back to attention, the two she-cats turning their eyes to the fight.

"You know, Thornpaw sort of freaks me out," Riverpath whispered to her.

"What do you mean?" Wolfpaw asked, not taking her eyes off of the fight.

"Well, he kind of stares through you, you know," her mentor told her. "It messes with you a little bit."

"He's one of the nicest cats I've met, aside from you," Wolfpaw meowed.

* * *

"Of course we were chosen to go," Thornpaw meowed, sitting with the crowd of cats by the entrance. "We're the best apprentices here. Are there any other cats that could beat the older apprentices in their first moon?"

"But I didn't beat Swirlpaw," Wolfpaw meowed.

"You had that fight in your paw before she picked you up," Thornpaw argued. Froststar padded towards the group, leading the way out of camp out at a run. "And at least we don't have to suffer through Swirlpaw and Howlpaw."

"Yeah," Wolfpaw meowed. "It would be a horrible Gathering, then."

"What would?" The two cats turned their heads to look at Foxpaw and Windpaw, who quickly caught up and ran at their sides.

"Nothing," the two said in sync, and fell back a bit to avoid the other apprentices..

* * *

Thornpaw climbed his way up an empty tree, ignoring Foxpaw's and Windpaw's calls to follow them towards the apprentice's tree. There were no scents here, new or old, so it had to be a tree no cat used much. "We won't go to any cats," Thornpaw meowed. "We'll wait for cats to come to us."

"Won't they all just go with all the other apprentices?" Wolfpaw asked.

Thornpaw nudged her gently with a shoulder. "Wolfpaw, you're not thinking big enough. We could meet _warriors_ at this Gathering if we wait for cats to come to us!" Wolfpaw nodded, curling her tail around her paws. AmberClan was the first Clan at the Tree Round, but it didn't take long for MouseClan to arrive. She watched as their cats spread out and climbed up trees, but two cats, a light brown tom with black patches and hazel eyes and a brown she-cat with white ears and a white chest with bright green eyes. Their eyes landed on Thornpaw's and Wolfpaw's tree.

The tom leaned over and whispered something to the she-cat before the two made their way over to their tree, climbing up to meet them.

"I hope you don't mind that we're sitting here," the she-cat meowed.

"Not at all!" Thornpaw meowed, smiling. "It's what we were waiting for!"

The tom folded his ear back in confusion, before gesturing to himself and the she-cat. "I'm Sparrowpaw, and this is my sister, Juniperpaw."

"I'm Thornpaw, and this is Wolfpaw," Thornpaw meowed, introducing her with a nudge to the shoulder.

"It's nice to meet you," Wolfpaw meowed, dipping her head. Thornpaw nodded in agreement.

"So, why were you two sitting alone?" Sparrowpaw asked.

"We were waiting for cats to come to us," Thornpaw meowed. "It's the better option."

"What do you mean?" Juniperpaw asked, the same confused look on her face that Sparrowpaw had.

"Well, if we just followed the crowd, we would only meet apprentices, and nothing new would be offered to us. But, if we waited for cats to come to us, then who knows who we'd meet!" Thornpaw explained.

"Oh," Sparrowpaw meowed.

"I guess that makes sense," Juniperpaw meowed. Wolfpaw wasn't sure if that was a lie or not.

"Anyway, how good are you two at fighting?" Thornpaw asked.

"You're not going to ask who our mentors are?" Sparrowpaw asked.

"There's not really a point to that," Wolfpaw meowed. The two still looked confused. "It doesn't matter who your mentors are, only what they teach you," she clarified. The two nodded.

"We're pretty good at fighting, but we don't really have a comparison," Sparrowpaw meowed.

"The only other apprentice, Blazewhisker, just became a warrior, and his final assessment was for me and Moonpaw to attack him."

"Moonpaw?" Thornpaw asked.

"Another one of our littermates," Sparrowpaw told him. "Our other littermate is named Owlpaw."

"We have plenty of apprentices to test our skill on, even though Hauntedpool's a warrior now," Thornpaw meowed as CloudClan padded into the clearing. "Today, I beat Howlpaw, and Wolfpaw almost beat Swirlpaw!"

"Uh…" the two glanced at each other. "Sorry, this is our first Gathering. You're going to have to fill us in."

"Howlpaw and Swirlpaw have been in training for a moon longer than us," Thornpaw explained.

"And you beat them?!" Juniperpaw exclaimed. "Well, almost?"

Thornpaw let out a scoff. "Wolfpaw had that win up until Swirlpaw kicked her across the clearing."

The cats attention was called to the Clan leaders, ending their conversation.

* * *

"Hey, Wolfpaw," Thornpaw meowed on their way back to camp. "Do you know how hard it's going to be for me to actually become leader?" Wolfpaw turned her head to look at him, but couldn't respond due to the large bird in her jaws. She just nodded. Thornpaw stopped and sit down. Wolfpaw sat next to him, setting her bird down next to her paws.

"I'm going to need followers, a message that cats believe in, cats that will support me all the way to the top whether they believe my opinion is right or wrong."

"Sparrowpaw and Juniperpaw seemed to like you," Wolfpaw meowed.

"But you know who else does," Thornpaw meowed. "You do. I promised that you would be my deputy, so what do you say? Will you be my closest ally in pushing me to the top?"

Wolfpaw didn't need to think. "I will."

* * *

Wolfpaw followed Thornpaw's paw steps for a new reason now: she was his closest ally, his most valued follower. Thornpaw was setting up a battle plan, one that she would be more than happy to follow.

* * *

"Well, first of all, as soon as we become warriors and I have an apprentice we'll have to get rid of Redshadow," Thornpaw meowed. "After that, we'll lure out Froststar and kill him as many times as we need to. For now, we need to gather up a following. As many cats as we can, we'll be sending out our message. Warriors, Elders, apprentices, Medicine Cats, kits, every cat who isn't a leader or a deputy, and every cat who wouldn't tell a soul."

"Are you with us?" Wolfpaw asked, looking at the two apprentices and ignoring the cats in the other trees. The tree that they had chosen this Gathering was secluded, and far too far away for another cat to hear.

Sparrowpaw and Juniperpaw looked at each other, thinking, before they nodded. "We'll do it."

Thornpaw smiled. "Don't worry, once I'm leader all of my followers are welcome to join AmberClan, and we'll be the most powerful Clan in the forest!"

* * *

"How many cats do you think will be there this time?" Wolfpaw asked, following after Thornpaw.

"Plenty! More than last time!" The two left AmberClan territory and ducked into a tunnel, their whiskers guiding their way through the darkness. They emerged cavern, looking down at a group of cats from a ledge. Wolfpaw sniffed the air.

"There's CloudClan cats here this time," she meowed.

Thornpaw nodded. Wolfpaw watched as the CloudClan cats looked up at her and Wolfpaw, then began muttering to themselves and to the AmberClan and MouseClan cats around them, who did their best to reassure them of how reliable the two apprentices were as leaders. Wolfpaw sat down next to Thornpaw as he let out a yowl.

"Cats of all Clans!" he yowled. Silence fell upon the cats immediately. "I'm so _happy_ to be able to say that now!" he meowed.

"I begin all of my speeches the same way, for newcomers such as the CloudClan cats here today. I'm also sure that Sparrowpaw and Juniperpaw have brought along some new cats from MouseClan, and Wolfpaw always updates me on her new recruits from our own Clan, AmberClan.

"My name is Thornpaw. My goal is to be leader of AmberClan, and with your help, we will make it the best Clan to have ever lived in the forest. We will be more powerful than CloudClan and MouseClan: with the combined gifts from all of our Clans, this new and improved AmberClan will become the best Clan there can be.

"The way me and Wolfpaw plan to achieve our goal is simple: we've shortcut our way into us not even needing an apprentice to become leader and deputy. Once I become a warrior and have a stable position in the Clan, Wolfpaw will lead all of you onto AmberClan territory. We will kill Redshadow, and bring her body to camp, then kill Froststar as many times as we have to. Once he is dead, I will claim myself leader of AmberClan!"

Cheers rose up from the gathered cats, making Thornpaw raise his head. Wolfpaw sat up straighter, listening to their followers cheers.

* * *

"Riverpath," Froststar meowed, his eyes fixed on the she-cat. "Do you believe that Wolfpaw ready to become a warrior?"

Riverpath nodded. "I do. She's replaced her small size with speed, and she has a quiet determination that I haven't seen before."

Froststar nodded, turning his eyes to the warrior sitting next to Riverpath. "Thunderfire, do you believe that Thornpaw is ready to become a warrior?"

"He's smart, resourceful, and isn't afraid to take risks." Thunderfire purred. "Personally, I think we need more warriors like him." Froststar nodded again before turning to look at the sky.

"I, Froststar, Leader of AmberClan, call upon my warrior ancestors to look down upon these apprentices. They have trained hard to understand your noble code, and I commend them to you was warriors in their turn." He looked back at the two apprentices. "Wolfpaw, Thornpaw, to you promise to uphold the warrior code, to protect and defend this Clan, even at the cost of your life?"

 _We're going to make this Clan better,_ Wolfpaw thought. "I do."

"I do," Thornpaw responded.

"Then by the powers of StarClan, I give you your warrior names. Wolfpaw, from this moment on, you shall be known as Wolfspirit. StarClan honors your speed and determination, and we welcome you as a full warrior of AmberClan." Froststar leapt off of the Carved Ledge and rested his muzzle on her head. She licked the albino's shoulder in return.

"Thornpaw, from this moment on, you shall be known as Thornstrike. StarClan honors your wit and resourcefulness, and we welcome you as a full warrior of AmberClan." The two cats repeated the actions that Froststar and Wolfspirit had just done, before Froststar took a step back.

No cat seemed to notice their relaxed stances, and the looks that showed that they didn't seem to care on their faces.

"Better names than Swirlspring and Howlnight," Thornstrike murmured to her. Wolfspirit nodded in agreement.

"Wolfspirit! Thornstrike! Wolfspirit! Thornstrike!"

* * *

"In two nights, we'll attack!" Thornstrike yowled. Cheers rose up from the cats.

Even though it had only been a moon since Thornstrike and Wolfspirit had gotten their warrior names, the light brown tom had decided that they were ready.

Thornstrike turned his head to look at the small she-cat by his side. "You ready for this, deputy?" Wolfspirit dipped her head.

"Of course, Thorn _star_."

* * *

Wolfspirit looked down at all the cats below her. She realized she didn't even know most of their names, but if they believed in Thornstrike's message, then that was enough for her.

"Is this everyone?" the cats looked around, before confirming. "Then let's go. Thornstrike is leading Redshadow into the forest to hunt now. Remember, we won't attack until Thornstrike orders us to."

Wolfspirit turned on her heel and started padding through the tunnel she had come from. She heard the other cats leaping onto the ledge and following after her.

* * *

"Kits and Elders will wait with Thornstrike while I attack with the warriors and apprentices," Wolfspirit meowed. The cats behind her nodded.

"I get to sit with Thornstar?" Wolfspirit let out a small purr as she looked down at the kit: a pure black kit with shining green eyes.

"Yes, you do." Wolfspirit crouched down. "Now crouch, like this, and be quiet, okay? Our goal is to surprise Redshadow." The kit nodded, getting into a sloppy crouch, but his black pelt protected him from being seen.

It didn't take long for Thornstrike to appear out of the brush with Redshadow, who was a russet furred she-cat with black paws, belly, and chest. Wolfspirit flicked her tail, and the cats erupted from the bushes.

"Wolfspirit?" Redshadow asked, jumping away from the cats. "What are you doing?"

"Oh, Wolfspirit isn't their leader," Thornstrike meowed. "She's just my deputy," the tom padded towards the black and white she-cat and sat down, the kits and Elders joining them.

"Attack!" Thornstrike yowled. Wolfspirit didn't need to let out a battle cry as she leapt for the deputy, her claws raking along her side. The other warriors and apprentices joined her, until Redshadow struggled no more.

The cats stepped away from Redshadow's body, letting Thornstrike step through.

"You did great," he meowed happily. "You all did! Now one more thing…" Thornstrike padded up to Wolfspirit. "I'm sorry, Wolfspirit, but you can't become my deputy." She didn't have time to react before his claws scored across her throat.

* * *

Wolfspirit sat up and shook her head, looking at the cats who were leaving the clearing. They must have been carrying her body, along with Redshadow's, because it wasn't in the clearing anymore.

"It wasn't your fault," Wolfspirit's ears perked at the soft voice, and she snapped her head to look at a black and dark brown tabby.

Hauntedpool was a cat that she hadn't spoken to much, but she knew that he was close to Riverpath and Thunderfire.

"What do you mean?"

"You had a big heart, and let Thornstrike in because no one else would let you in," Hauntedpool explained. "So, that's why, despite all the things you did, you're being accepted into StarClan."

* * *

" _Forgive yourself for the blindness that lets others betray you. Sometimes a good heart doesn't see the bad."_


End file.
